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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23329048">Two Ships Apart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/vminthough/pseuds/vminthough'>vminthough</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2016 bts, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Confessions, Dancer Park Jimin (BTS), Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kim Taehyung | V &amp; Park Jimin are Best Friends, Light Angst, M/M, OT7, Past Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Temporarily Unrequited Love, bts canon compliant, jimin confesses, pinning, sweet night, trainee days bts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:55:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23329048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/vminthough/pseuds/vminthough</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>taehyung wonders far and wide in search of love, but what happens when he realises his heart belongs to the same boy he had rejected four years ago? will they ever be able to reconcile or has he let their two ships drift too far apart?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>250</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two Ships Apart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the age of 18, Park Jimin was not sure of much, not the way he himself or the wider world worked. But the one thing he had been certain about was that no matter what he felt for his best friend; it would never break the bond the two shared. </p><p>Out of the seven of them, the duo spent most of their time together. They slept on the same bunk bed, the measurable distance of a ladder separating the two. They walked the same small roads to their high school, sleep clinging to their eyelids as they looked down and fought through the tiredness of the day before, shielding their eyes from the sun that was only trying to help. They sat side by side in a classroom of 30 and forgot the rest of the world that kept snapping at their feet, apparently being in a band meant they had to walk on eggshells at all times but they had years ahead of them to get used to that. And in time, they would. The same practice room floor caught their sweat as they danced until the early morning hours before they were allowed back to the same beds they had left that morning. </p><p>
  <em>They were ships in the night, sailing side by side.</em>
</p><p>It was hard not to fall in love with the quirky individual that was his best friend. He always stood out from the rest of the crowd; maybe it was only Jimin who saw Taehyung shine in a blinding light whilst the rest of the world dimmed down to a soft glow. He always heard Taehyung’s laugh the loudest, sought him out in a room of people, found his hand in dark roads and packed cars.</p><p>The pair were struggling together in the new world that they had been pushed into; amidst cameras and staff always touching up their faces, having to be polite with every word spoken, to keeping their cool even when their anger could have boiled the ocean’s worth of water into vapour. So it was only fair that Jimin had believed, foolishly, that Taehyung felt the same for him. </p><p>They were about to debut in a few days' time, and hence, would only be released out of the iron grips of their managers near sunrise. Which was fine by the pair, they liked watching the dawn break together anyways. They sat, side by side, on the porch of their shared dorm, and watched the rest of the members begrudgingly pass them by into their respective rooms.</p><p>“I will drag you out by the ear if you wake me up,” Hoseok had warned before heading inside, his legs swollen from the days worth of practice, bandages lined his ankles and toes. Hoseok slept in the single bed in their cramped room as the duo shared the bunk bed. He always wanted an award for putting up with them; it never got him more than a few giggles from the 95liners.</p><p>Jimin was a romantic, spent most of his spare time watching movies about love than anything else. He knew the tight knot that formed at the bottom of his stomach every time he gazed at Taehyung was not normal. How he woke up and looked up at the top bunk; with a wish and desire that today Taehyungie would climb down and hold him before they both battled with sleep and got ready for school once more. Or the way his breath caught whenever he said his best friend's name. </p><p>He had been feeling this way for a few months now, but these days he found it overbearing, he was tripping on thin air, grasping at the nothingness as his heart swelled at the thought of his Taehyungie. He was walking blindly in a forest that whispered Taehyung’s name from every side and he never wanted out. The leaves were rustling in the conversation for their unity, the butterflies circled with the same wish. The sky was open and the ground ever more accepting; Jimin felt the entire world come together when he thought of the way the two fit together. Of course, they were meant to be together.</p><p>The pair did not keep secrets, was that not the first ruling of being best friends? And Jimin was about to trust Taehyung with his most prized one now. The cool morning air glided over them as Jimin turned to face Taehyung, their hazel eyes meeting in the morning’s glow. He broke the silence that the pair had been bathing in ever since they had sat down on the porch.</p><p>Jimin reached over and opened the window to his heart; allowing Taehyung to see a part of him that he treasured so much. “I think I’m in love with you Taehyung-ie.”</p><p>The ocean seemed to be in a turmoil and Taehyung felt himself thrown overboard the ship that he had been gliding along ever since he had met Jimin. Rather than oxygen, Taehyung felt a gush of seawater entering his trachea and he was struggling to breathe. </p><p>“You are?” Taehyung sputtered.  Unable to comprehend what his best friend had told him. It would be a lie to say he was shocked at Jimin’s confession, with their closeness it was surprising that Taehyung did not feel the same towards Jimin. But it was the truth, he did not see Jimin as anything other than the close friends that they were. His mind was too preoccupied with everything else that life was throwing at him to fall in love. He was still getting to grips with who he was in the mess that he called day to day life. Still searching aimlessly at his identity and what role he played in the scene play that was written for him. Love was not at the forefront of his mind. He needed time… a whole ocean’s worth of it.</p><p>Jimin nodded. His black hair bouncing around his face, his chubby cheeks innocently raised in a smile. His eyes clouded with a promise of something that Taehyung knew he could not offer.</p><p>Grabbing Jimin by the wrist, Taehyung pulled him into a hug. He could not meet Jimin’s eyes as he broke his heart. He was a coward, a coward that would rather hide behind a screen of skinship than be bold, like the way Jimin was, and tell him of the truth.</p><p>The small amount of fear and doubt that had clung to Jimin’s ankles until now loosened their grip on him and he felt himself soar into the sky; his best friend loved him back! Just like he knew he would. How could Taehyung not love him back when Jimin was so sure that the entire universe was fighting for their togetherness. He felt giddy as Taehyung pressed his face into Jimin’s neck. For months on end, he had been growing a flower of their love in his heart and he was sure that Taehyung too mirrored one in his heart. </p><p>And that was why Taehyung’s first teardrop against Jimin’s neck felt like a rude awakening. A rope thrown into the sky to pull back and ground Jimin to reality. He felt it tighten around his limbs and constrict his blood flow. No, no, no. Of course, his Taehyungie loved him back. How could he not?</p><p>“I am so sorry,” Taehyung gushed out, afraid that the ocean he was wading through was going to engulf him whole. He knew he was tearing apart the perfect image that Jimin had built of the two, and he was ever so sorry for it but he would rather break Jimin’s heart now than string him along and snap his whole being in two later on. Taehyung would murder anyone who hurt his best friend, including himself.</p><p>Like clay hardening in a kiln, Taehyung knew the exact moment Jimin’s heart grew cold. His words the fire that scorched Jimin’s being into something entirely different. Over the next few months and years, he would watch Jimin change and be able to trace back the steps to it to this morning where they sat in each other’s arms and Taehyung broke his best friend's heart for the first time.</p><p>Taehyung felt Jimin’s hands on his arms, undoing his embrace. He pushed himself back a little, putting distance between the two so that he could read Taehyung’s face.</p><p>He watched Jimin’s eyes bathe in the purple and blue of the morning sky, but more importantly as it became vacant and lost. Jimin looked like he had just been plucked and dropped into a new universe. Taehyung’s heart ached at the sight. How sure had Jimin been of Taehyung’s feelings that it was taking him by such a surprise to hear the contrary? He watched Jimin cock his head to the left, his lips opened as if he was going to say something and then thought better of it.</p><p>Kim Taehyung had made him dumbfounded.  A slow smile crawled onto Jimin’s beautiful lips. And Taehyung felt himself shatter. There was something so awfully heartbreaking about that smile. Taehyung would dream of it for days on end, it would haunt him in his most awakened moments. Chase him when he was tired and drag him back whenever he tried to forget it.  He wanted to turn away, jump down the steps of the porch and run until his lungs gave away. He wanted to be away from the boy he had just so beautifully broken. </p><p>“You don’t?” was all that Jimin asked.</p><p>Taehyung shook his head, knowing words were as slippery as oil in his mouth. Knowing how much they could hurt his Jimin-ah. He never wanted to speak again. </p><p>Jimin put his palms down on the stone floor, pushed himself off and clapped his hands to get rid of the residue that was clinging onto it. He lent his hand out, “let’s go to sleep Taehyung.”</p><p>For a moment Taehyung wanted to pull Jimin back, make him sit down and talk it out. Knowing that this was not as simple as a question and an answer. Jimin was in love with himself… he tried to make sense of it but it was like a mist of the darkest colour wrapping itself around his mind. Stamping at every new thought that dared to exist and crushing it before it could grow into anything real. He would need more time to process this. His stomach was bound with a rock and he was hurtling downwards. </p><p>He let himself be pulled to his feet by his best friend. And Jimin put his left arm around Taehyung’s shoulder as they walked in, it was as if they were headed for a coffee or ice cream… not at all like Jimin had just confessed something that would change the two of them for years to come.</p><p>Eight days later, Taehyung would walk in on Jimin mourning over his dying love for the first time. </p><p>It was a mistake on Taehyung’s behalf. Jimin was the last one to shoot and he was going to come home on his own, the practice room was a 2-minute walk and a 30 second run from their shared dorm. The rest of them had been told specifically to go home and sleep. They were travelling to Daegu in the early morning for a pre-recording of a show. It had been hours since the six of them had headed home until Taehyung realised he had left his shoes for the shoot in the small humble closet the company offered. They had been instructed to take their outfits home and be already clad in them for the shoot in the morning, there was no messing about this close to debut. Taehyung had tried calling Jimin’s phone, only for the answerphone to greet him loud and clear each time.</p><p>Walking into the building, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, he had a bad feeling about this. Taehyung realised soon enough that shooting had ended hours ago, the only person he met was their manager at the front of their building, possibly waiting for Jimin to go home. But not pushing him out; the longer he stayed, the more he practised, which meant a better performance for their shows. He did not care for Jimin’s well-being, not this early in the career when they were just another set of trainees like the other hundred or so. </p><p>Taehyung heard music of the sort he knew Jimin did not listen to blaring out of the speaker. He opened the door to Jimin facing the wall. His forehead was touching the cool wooden floor and even amidst the background of rock music, Taehyung could hear the agony of Jimin’s heart-shattering from where he stood. His shoulders heaved up, stayed there as Jimin struggled to breathe before another bout of air was inhaled and he was back to being alive and tormented. Taehyung had never seen pain in its rawest form and yet here it was; his best friend crumbling to pieces before his eyes.</p><p>He stepped back, one foot behind the other. Heard the water gushing in his ears again. He felt the splintering of his boat as it crashed against the stormy currents of a sea so angry and furious. It was his fault and yet he could not do anything about it. He was just a kid, did not know what love was but if it hurt as much as this, then he never wanted it.</p><p>He knew he was selfish; for having broken Jimin’s heart, for shattering the dreams of his best friend but mostly for leaving him in that room all alone. Drowning in an ocean that Taehyung had created between them. </p><p>Some part of the 18-year-old Taehyung knew there were more heartbreaks to come as he walked back to the dorm, his shoulders dropped and his eyes cast on his feet. Concentrating on just the next step ahead of him. Trying so hard to not run back and take Jimin in his arms, to comfort him and tell him everything will be okay. Because that was a lie; Taehyung felt nothing of the sort for Jimin.</p>
<hr/><p>The first date Taehyung would go on would be two years after their debut. He was more confident in his skin, felt a longing for the taste of something new. He wanted to cling onto the feeling of lust and quench his thirst. It was a high school friend who knew how to keep secrets. And being an idol, Taehyung needed that more than anything else. </p><p>“I really like him Jimin-ah,” Taehyung was lying on his double bed, his phone inches from his face as he replied instantly to his new love interest.</p><p>“Except the few times we hung out as a group, I don't ever remember holding a conversation with him,” Jimin was sitting against the windowsill that was adjacent to Taehyung’s bed, his feet resting on Taehyung thighs. He felt the coolness of the glass behind him. It was his only way of soothing the burns that Taehyung created with every word he spoke.</p><p>“Over our friendship, I have seen you come out of your shell, but with him, he’s still the same person he was since I met him when I first moved to Seoul. He’s in his head most of the time but there is something so sweet about that, I like watching him when he’s just idly playing with his hands or something.” Taehyung rolled over to face Jimin, “he’s so sweet!”</p><p>“He’s so different from me that I don’t even think I could spend an hour with him alone,” Jimin said without really meaning much, only that by the end of his sentence the reality of his words hit him like a brick to his chest; Taehyung had gone ahead and chosen someone who was polar opposite to himself. Was this Taehyung’s way of telling him that even years after his rejection, he was still trying to make a point out of it? He swallowed hard.</p><p>“Get yourself someone Jiminie, we could go on double dates!” Taehyung peered from his phone, eyes wide and his toothy smile on display. “We’re planning on going to the cinema this weekend, I hope practice ends on time.”</p><p>“Oh that reminds me, I’m going to Jeju Island as soon as we finish on Saturday morning,” Jimin said, scrolling down his itinerary for the trip. They did not have much time to themselves, but Jimin had come to realise over the years that he really enjoyed travelling,  and he was determined to fit in as much as possible in his youth.</p><p>“With who?”</p><p>“Myself,” Jimin grinned.</p><p>“I don’t think that’s really safe Jimin, you’ve never travelled on your own,” Taehyung felt the ropes of fear tangling itself in his stomach, travelling alone was not something he associated with Jimin but yet again, this was just one of the hundreds of things Jimin had surprised him with over their years of friendship. </p><p>“Well, let’s make this a first then!” Jimin jumped to his feet and sprang from the bed to the floor in two swift motions.</p><p>Taehyung put his phone on his chest, face down. Jimin was no longer the shy boy who was embarrassed by his Busan dialect or the one who shied away from attention. He bathed in praises, attracted people of all sorts to himself; smiled as he knew he had caught at another set of heartstrings. He was the first to put his hand up to volunteer to attend television shows whenever the entire group was not required. Taehyung wondered how much of this the company had to play a part in, and just how much Jimin worked behind the scenes to build himself up.</p><p>Taehyung knew Jimin was learning to love himself, that it would take a few more years for him to cross that bridge, but he knew that Jimin was fighting with his demons on a regular basis to get there. Taehyung was beyond proud of his best friend, a lot more than he could vocalise and tell Jimin about.</p><p>It was inevitable that Jimin would befriend Jihoon soon enough; the pair were Taehyung’s favourite people after all. They hung out often and even had a group chat called “Kim’s bitches.” </p><p>“Why don’t you tell him?” Jin asked, sitting at the edge of his bed where Jimin now lay. The trio had just gone for a meal out and Jimin naturally found himself at the oldest hyung’s room.</p><p>Jimin sighed, “I already told him once.” </p><p>“Not that, why don’t you tell him you hate going on these dates with him?”</p><p>“Because I don't want things to be awkward between us,” he reached out and grabbed one of Jin’s plushies, squashed it to his chest. “When I’m out with them it doesn't feel so bad but once I’m alone it’s all a bit too much.” </p><p>“So what if things are a little awkward, it’ll only be for a few days, and then you two will be back to normal. How could you not when you are the closest duo we have in the group?” </p><p>“I can’t say no to him hyung, everything I stand for washes away at the sight of him.”</p><p>“Do you want me to speak to him?” He heard Yoongi’s voice from behind the bookshelf that separated the oldest two boys’ shared space. </p><p>Yoongi had been working at his desk, headphones on and all three of his computers on. His desk was facing the window, which Jimin was happy about; at least he got some sun. Jimin did not think Yoongi had even noticed him entering the room, crossing his side to get to Jin’s bed. But apparently he had pressed pause on his work to hear about his favourite dongsaeng’s heartbreak.</p><p>“Hyung no,” Jimin pressed his face into the plushie, “I’ll be fine.” </p><p>“Why don’t you try dating too,” Jin moved away the hair that was shrouding Jimin’s eyes. “I’m not saying you should replace him, but if you got another crush or something, maybe things will be easier?.”</p><p>“We are at the pinnacle of our career, I really don’t think I will be able to do it now hyung, maybe in a few years time.” </p>
<hr/><p>In the year of 2016, Jimin would give in to his demons for the last time. He would allow them to eat away from the inside out, to sink their claws into his cells and call it a home. He would crumble for one last time before realising his worth. </p><p>“I want to give him another chance,” he heard Taehyung’s voice in his head as he danced well into the night. His feet sore and his mind near to collapsing. His fingertips sharp, toes pointed. </p><p>He stayed away from dorms as much as possible, only used it to rest his aching body when it was close to shutting down completely. “Something has changed between us, Jimina-ah,” Taehyung had told him earlier that morning. He tried to banish the image of Taehyung’s hopeful eyes as he clicked play on the laptop where the songs were blaring at him from. Jimin was learning new choreography with Jungkook, it was an English song called Own It, which meant he had to focus extra hard, anything to distract his mind from the image of how Taehyung’s face grew brighter at the mention of his beloved.</p><p>He closed his eyes shut and spun around in the empty practice room after Jungkook had left, sweat clinging to every inch of his body, his limbs sore but his heart in a worse condition. He tried to remind himself that he was no longer the 18 year old who had fallen in love with his best friend. He was turning 21 this year and could barely recognise himself in the mirror when he compared it to who he was at the start of their career. </p><p>As Jimin’s best friend buried his face in his stomach and cried, he realised that no matter how much he kept himself in line, Kim Taehyung would always be his hamartia.</p><p>“I want him to listen to me,” Taehyung gulped, he had stopped eating for a few days now. Jimin had caught him wide awake on several nights on his way to bed. Taehyung’s eyes had grown vacant and he seemed to carry around a fake smile that he plastered on every time anyone addressed him. “Like the way you do.”</p><p>Jimin sat at the edge of his bed, put one hand behind Taehyung’s head for support and the other rested on his back. “Talk to him,” he advised. He hated seeing Taehyung so broken but for the first time, it was out of his control.</p><p>“I want him to tell me everything will be okay,” he uttered, his voice shrouded in tears, “like you do.” </p><p>Jimin was taken aback, he felt his hands slacken on Taehyung. ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up.’ he thought desperately. He willed Taehyung to stop talking before he gave in to his weakness and told him he was still there for the taking. Taehyung was already crumbling in his broken relationship, the last thing Jimin wanted was to add another layer of anguish to what he was already swimming through.</p><p>He stayed silent, knowing his voice would crack and the tears lining his throat would unleash. </p><p>When they finally retired to bed, Taehyung’s face buried in Jimin’s chest, he dealt the final blow.  “I want him to be like you,” Taehyung finally whispered. </p><p>Every wound Jimin had nursed, alone, opened once more. He had watched his best friend fall in love with another, heard him gush about him on a regular basis. He had been the one who covered up for Taehyung and made excuses for him when he was late from a date. The one who let his boyfriend know where Taehyung was whenever Taehyung was busy with their packed schedule. The one who put a  layer of concealer on his lovebites before the makeup artist got their hands on Taehyung. </p><p>“I will teach him how to love you better,” Jimin said, placing his chin on top of Taehyung’s head. Finally letting the tears fall silently down his cheek and trail past his neck. He held his breath, not wanting Taehyung to know that he too was grieving over a dead dream of something that could have been something so much more. <br/>
He was agreeing on teaching someone else how to love the boy he had been in love with for the past 4 years; knowing at the end of it all, he would be the one left empty-handed. Bruised and burned, but at least his best friend would be happy.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>How could I know</em><br/>
<em>One day, I’d wake up feeling more </em>
</p><p>A few weeks later, Taehyung would wake up and his world would fall into place. The jigsaw puzzles would finally click together and the chaos of his heart would finally cease. </p><p>Hearing Jimin’s words through Jihoon’s voice made Taehyung want to plug his ears in and scream until he could drown out his voice. There was something so awfully wrong about the way he thought of Jimin’s hands on him whenever Jihoon placed his own on Taehyung. </p><p>“I was waiting for you to realise this for a long time now,” Jihoon’s soft voice came through the phone. Taehyung could see him in bed too, the same one he had woken up on many occasions. The soft yellow blinds of his room waving in the morning wind. The sun’s glow falling directly where his face lay. Maybe there was a time when he loved Jihoon, but he knew it was no longer the case. </p><p>“I don’t know how-” </p><p>“It’s okay Taehyung-ssi, I loved what we had, but it would be a lie to say that I didn’t think our relationship was just something for you to realise where your true love lay.” </p><p>Taehyung stared at his ceiling, his heart felt a thousand times lighter. Jihoon was always so much more quieter than either Jimin or Taehyung, he was always so observant about every little detail about everyone; of course, he would have noticed how Taehyung felt for Jimin. </p><p>Taehyung’s tears seeped into his pillow, there was still some heartache in letting go of the fragile future he had harboured in his mind with Jihoon. Cutting down the rope that attached their two ships; he wondered how much Jihoon was feeling on the other end, knowing that Taehyung was returning to his best friend, leaving him all alone in the midst of the sea. </p><p>“Can we still be friends?” </p><p>“Always,” Jihoon whispered. </p><p>
  <em>I still hope the door is open.</em>
</p><p>Rolling out of bed he made his way across the hall to where Jimin’s room was, his heart in his hands, hoping that the door would still be open. His mind flashed images of a Jimin crying on a dance floor 4 years ago, but this time, rather than walking backwards, he was walking towards the boy he knew his heart belonged to. </p><p>
  <em>Wondering if you'd want me now</em>
</p><p>The house seemed to be in a vacuum, he felt devoid of any sounds or thoughts. The hallway that separated the two seemed to contain memories of the past 4 years and just how much the two boys had changed. Did Jimin still want him now? Or was it too late. Jimin had never brought up the topic once since that morning on the porch when Taehyung had said no, and Taehyung had not been brave enough to broach it either. He thought that was the end of that chapter of their lives and that the pair would go their separate ways romantically. </p><p>He smiled now, standing outside Jimin’s room, his hand poised to knock; his feet had wandered far and wide and yet he was back where he was meant to be. Only to realise the door was left slightly ajar.</p><p>Taehyung got into bed with Jimin, as was natural. The pair never missed an opportunity to cuddle. Even in his sleep, Jimin moved to let Taehyung make himself comfortable. He watched Jimin’s pupils move in deep sleep, his nose poised in the air, his lips in a slight pout. He knew, without looking, that Jimin’s hands were in a fist on his stomach; it was an old habit of his. </p><p>
  <em>Now my forever's falling down</em><br/>
<em>Wondering if you'd want me now</em>
</p><p>Had Jimin always known that he would come back to him? Was that the reason he had never tried looking elsewhere for love or was he still healing from his heartbreak and needed a break before pursuing someone new?</p><p>“I think I’m in love with you,” Taehyung echoed, brushing away at the hair on Jimin’s forehead, watching Jimin slowly adjust to the brightness of the room. He was facing Taehyung, their noses just a few centimetres apart.</p><p>Jimin’s eyes darkened, he tilted his head slightly up in question. But Taehyung knew he had registered his words because he could see Jimin’s cheeks flush the red of a blossoming rose. He was probably telling his heart to quieten, for his breathing to not let out his secret but he could not control the flushing of his cheeks.</p><p>“I am four years late, but I’m wondering if you’d still want me now?” He cupped Jimin’s face in his large hands, stroked his cheeks with his thumbs. His heart was pounding, knowing just how vulnerable he was. </p><p>
  <em>Feels like a river's rushing through my mind</em><br/>
<em>I wanna ask you if this is all just in my head</em>
</p><p>Jimin could say no, turn away and leave the room. He could say he was not ready for this now and it was all too late. That he had actually moved on and no longer wanted Taehyung as his own. Taehyung was placing all the cards in Jimin’s hand, letting him choose their fate. </p><p>“I have never stopped wanting you, not once, ever since I fell in love with you,” Jimin’s voice was steadier than Taehyung’s had been. It made Taehyung want to weep, how could he have ever questioned Jimin’s love for him?</p><p>“Even Jihoon knew I was in love with you! I am sorry for not coming to my senses sooner, Jimin-ah,” Taehyung put their foreheads together. Their shaky laughter filled the room, he had been a fool. And for such a long time too!</p><p>
  <em>And would it be alright if I</em><br/>
<em>Pulled you closer</em>
</p><p>He pecked Jimin’s nose, watched as his eyes sparkled; stars gliding upon the sea in the night. Pressing his lips to Jimin’s cheeks, he breathed deeply, this was harder than he had imagined. Taehyung felt light-headed as he kissed the edges of Jimin’s mouth, but not yet having the courage to kiss his lips. He thought he was going to pass out from the effort. </p><p>He paused, closed his eyes and willed himself to breathe again. </p><p>“Come here,” he heard Jimin’s voice from a thousand miles away, he could hear the smile in it. As Jimin pressed their lips together, Taehyung saw the ocean calm down for the first time, did not feel threatened by the water that could drown him but saw it for what it was; capable of sustaining livelihood. He was swirling amidst a sea of turquoise and teal, but for the first time he had the hand of his lover to hold.</p><p>They had finally reached the shore, this time, together. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading this work of mine, I appreciate your time a lot! Please leave a comment to make me happy.</p><p>I have other vmin/minjoon fics (canon-compliant and aus) if you want to give them a try!</p><p>This work was created and posted for free, however, if you would like to support me, you can tip me here: <a href="https://ko-fi.com/vminthough">my ko-fi</a></p><p>You can find me on twitter @vminthough. </p><p>All the love, ira</p></blockquote></div></div>
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